Queen Raiden's Knights
by MistressofSeven77
Summary: In Miami, new heroes have risen-Queen Raiden's Knights, a group of Conduits led by the mysterious Queen Raiden. They constantly engage with agents of Ancient Mythos, a drug cartel that never dies. When they suddenly become more violent, it becomes clear that there is more to the story. Just who exactly is Queen Frostheart, and what is her ultimate plan for the Nine Realms?
1. Prologue: Awakening

Prologue: Awakening

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><p>? P.O.V.<p>

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><p><em>Nighttime in Miami, Florida, was always a bit of a dangerous time. It was when criminals were the most active. The thieves, the dealers, the murderers… all of them tended to do the majority of their dirty work at night, when cops were a bit more tired, and overall, it was just more dangerous. It wasn't helped by the fact that some of the gangs had villainous Conduits on their side-people with powers. <em>

_Miami is currently in a war, and a very strange type of war at that. Initially, it was entirely a one-sided war. The gangs that had Conduits drove fear into the hearts of everyone else in the city. It didn't matter what power they had. It was still scary all the same. Miami's economy, people, and overall existence was suffering at the hands of these rogue Conduits. But then… she showed up._

_Queen Raiden. Initially, everyone assumed she was just a really powerful Conduit with a good heart. Although it's been proven by now that she isn't a Conduit, she's still a blessing to this city, and its only real hope. She leads a group of Conduits that she's taken in under her wing-Queen Raiden's Knights. Together, they're taking Miami back from the gangs and the rogue Conduits. Every good person at least respects them. Me? Well, I almost idolized them. _

_I already had a reverence of sorts for them. Then, I had a personal encounter with one of them. One of Queen Raiden's Knights. A small group of thugs decided that I was a perfect mugging target. Then, from a neon sign nearby, she appeared. One of the Knights. I knew that she was one of them because of their trademark emblem on her right shoulder-a lightning bolt. Called herself "Neon Huntress". It was amazing; watching her take down the thugs with such ease, and the Neon trails that her powers generated only made it more incredible! _

_She then got me to a nearby hospital, and left in a flurry of Neon. I was so grateful that I began using my art talents to further their popularity. With many aerosol cans in hand, I painted walls all over the city. I never thought that I would really see them again. After all, I never thought I would be anything more than a graffiti artist. _

_I couldn't have been more wrong. _

_It happened so suddenly. I'll never forget it. Not as long as I live. _

_I was spraying up another wall with a newer design. Then, I was attacked by real gang. Not just some lowly thugs that no one really cared about. A real, legit gang. It was only a small section of that gang, but it was certainly more than enough. I struggled against them, running. Bullet after bullet struck my body. Then… My body snapped._

_A bullet struck me in my arm, hard. That was the final strike for them. My Conduit gene-one I didn't know I had!-was triggered by the stress, and began coding itself. Driven and consumed by the need to survive, my powers saved me. I used my newfound Aerosol-based abilities in all sorts of ways-creating creatures to help me, creating weapons so I could arm myself and my other creations, turning myself into aerosol gas to move around better, blasting them with compressed gas, suffocating them with the gas and, of course, the trademark enhanced body state of all Conduits. The healing factor, the resiliency… it all happened so fast. _

_When I finally calmed down and regained my head, I looked around, and couldn't believe what I saw. Not a cop in sight, yet my attackers were down. I was surrounded by the things born of my power, and I was holding a sword I had made! The gas created a faint aura around my body, and the men were downed, trapped in chains that I had created! I didn't want to accept it at first, but I had no choice. I cried as the realization hit me._

_I was a Conduit. One of them. One of the people with powers. I was so scared and so confused that I didn't know what to do. I didn't see the trail of color that my powers generated as I sat there, crying my eyes out. Sitting there in the middle of the street, consumed now by fear and confusion. In one of the few moments I had to stop to breathe, I heard footsteps. Fearing it was a bystander or a cop, I turned around, and, through tears, pointed my Aerosol sword in the direction of the source of the footsteps. My grip was shaky, so it really wouldn't have done me any good if I had to use it. But can anyone blame me? I was scared, confused, and crying my heart out. Luckily, I didn't need to use the sword._

"_Impressive work you've done here, kid. Taking down all of these guys by yourself. Nice sword and creations, too." _

_My vision started to clear as I began to stop crying. Although my vision was certainly still blurry from all the tears and all the crying, what I saw clearly wasn't just some bystander, cop, or gangbanger. I could see a fuzzy symbol, and when the figure knelt down and wiped my tears, I realized what this person was. _

_The lightning bolt symbol. The trademark of Queen Raiden's Knights. Specifically, the one who had saved me so long ago. Neon Huntress. _

_They had been known to somehow be able to find any Conduit in Miami moments after their powers awakened. How they did it, no one knew. They just did. Right now, I didn't care how they found me. I just cared that they found me. Since practically every member of the Knights was a Conduit, I knew that I would have a safe place to call home. Words weren't needed. I threw my weakened self onto her, and she let me cry on her shoulder for what seemed like forever. She took me to what I figured was one of their home bases, and managed to do it at an incredible rate of speed, despite not using her powers._

_It was then that my journey began. The journey of learning to control my powers, and help protect the people of Miami. But no one can see the future, and no one knew what was in store for any of us. Not even Queen Raiden herself… _


	2. Chapter 1: The Huntress and The Artist

Chapter 1: The Huntress and The Artist

A young girl and her friend were currently perched on the rooftop of a skyscraper, deep in the heart of Miami. One was wearing a black body suit, with a utility belt. On her right shoulder, there was a lightning bolt emblem. Practicality and deadly beauty were clearly the themes, as the body suit defined her beautiful curves, but the utility belt was always packed with whatever equipment she felt was necessary for the mission. The night concealed the full extent of her features, but her blue eyes were narrow and focused. Her long hair was slightly disturbed by an ambient wind.

Perhaps the most striking feature of this one was her primary weapon choice. Over each middle finger was a strange, dagger-like weapon. It was razor-sharp and clearly capable of delivering death, as the moon was slightly reflected in the clean silver of the dagger. Although quite a bit of the weapon was concealed by the body suit, it was still nonetheless very deadly and threatening. She never really explained to anyone the story behind the armaments, and no one really pressed the issue, unless they wanted to be stabbed.

She was Black Huntress, a Conduit with venom-based abilities. Her body produced venom, and through training, she learned how to alter her venom for various purposes. Blinding, paralyzing, sedating, and, of course, lethal were just a few variants of her venom. One of her trademark move was the "Huntress's Strike", which was a move where she stabbed her target with one of the daggers and injected them with one of her venom variants. This meant that the daggers were actually a bit hollow, so she could deliver the payload.

The other was a bit more… freestyle. She currently wore a dark overcoat that was partially split from the waist down and had a darker inlay. This was over a lighter shirt with some jeans and ankle-high boots. A belt was strapped around her waist, holding up a small arsenal of aerosol cans. She wore gray goggles, which were currently mounted on her forehead, almost like a headband. Her green eyes weren't nearly as focused as Black Huntress's eyes. Her short, black hair was in a slightly-messy style.

She was Wild Style, a Conduit with aerosol-based abilities. She produced aerosol gases, and through training, she learned to tame the things she created. She could create graffiti-style weapons and creatures that obeyed her every command. One of her favorite moves was any variation of the "Rainbow Grenade", where she would throw an aerosol can at an enemy, cause it to explode, and… well, anything could happen. Swords might go flying in every which way. Some sort of crazy creature might suddenly appear and defeat the enemy. You get the picture.

"I've gotta hand it to ya, Black. I don't think I know many people who can do what you do." Wild Style said, waving her hand in the air.

"That depends on what you mean, Wild Style. If you're referring to my Venom abilities, then that's not really an accurate statement. Yes, I am more than likely the only Conduit with Venom abilities, but every member of our group is a Conduit, save for Queen Raiden. If you are referring to my dedication to the mission, then you should take notes, because you could learn a thing or two. Now shut up. Talking to you doesn't do anything to further the mission." Black Huntress replied coldly, continuing to focus on the area.

"But I am _sooooo booooored! _I'm not like you, Black! Silence makes me feel all weird and you know what can happen if I feel weird!"

"We all know, if the encounter with the Pink Fluffy Attack Unicorn that exploded last week meant anything."

Wild Style snorted. She had felt awkward and frustrated, being ignored, so she unintentionally created a Pink Fluffy Attack Unicorn with her Aerosol powers. It made everyone pay attention alright-it took everyone in the area to take down the angry Aerosol creation… and the fact wasn't helped that there were only three Conduits in the base at the time. Then, they had to clean up the remnants after it exploded.

"There's a _reason_ why my name is _Wild Style_, Black."

"Yes. You are insane, impatient, and far too impulsive for your own good. Now shut up before I sedate you. And don't think I won't do it. You know I will."

Wild cringed.

"Damn, you need to stop being so uptight there, Black. Learn to loosen up and live life, would ya?"

"My mother is an ex-Russian Spy who now works for S.H.I.E.L.D., and my father is an sniper who works for the exact same organization. They are trained fighters. Trained killers. I learned from them. So, no, I cannot learn to just drop my guard and be like you."

"Whatever..."

Wild Style paced around, playing with small creations made from her Aerosol powers. Black Huntress continued to watch the area. After several minutes...

"Enemy movement!"

Wild Style turned around quickly, Aerosol gas gathering around her hands.

"Huh? Where?!"

Black Huntress stood up.

"I'm going in. Cover me!"

The powerful Venom Conduit leapt from her perch, infusing her daggers with a paralytic and silencing Venom. No screaming, no movement. That was her objective. Wild Style smirked. She would deal with the reinforcements that were coming. She danced, letting her Aerosol powers create a graffiti swordsman and siccing him on the men. She kept it up, creating more and more each time one was finally destroyed while Black Huntress incapacitated others with the hybrid Venom in her daggers.

The fight dragged on and on. Wild Style was exhausted from the strain of using her powers constantly for a long time. She couldn't create much more before she'd pass out. By now, even with all her stamina, Black Huntress was beginning to pant. After all, even the most resilient and trained of Conduits had their limits.

A young child, hiding in the shadows, was watching the fight. She loved watching hero fights as they took down the villains, but this was not something she wanted to see. She was beginning to cry. The moment she saw one of the enemies about to get a lucky strike, she took action without thinking twice.

She leapt from the shadows, pouncing on the man. She managed to knock his gun out of his hand, but he retaliated by kicking her off. She landed on a torn metal barrel, being impaled in the gut by it. She coughed up blood, and seemed dead. Black Huntress was horrified (though you couldn't really see it in the dark of night), and took the man down hard. It was the last enemy, so the fight was over. Black Huntress quickly picked up the young, injured girl, knowing Wild Style would recover quickly and be able to handle herself.

Black Huntress was so focused on getting the injured one to the hospital that she didn't see the shadows beginning to gather around the young one's hands…


	3. Chapter 2: Child of the Night

**Author's note: For future reference, any foreign languages will be in bold so that they may be discerned from normal English. Enjoy the fic!**

Chapter 2: Child of the Night

A month passed, and Black Huntress's sort-of savior recovered from her wounds. She had returned to her life at the ranch she knew and loved, which was located on the edge of Miami. There, she helped care for the horses, since many riders rented stalls whenever there were competitions, or, for well, whatever. She always had a dream of having a horse of her own, but she could never afford to buy one. She had been known to be talented with horses, but she never would imagine that her love for all things equine would change her life forever.

She had been told to go to the nearest large store. So, reluctantly, she left her home on the range, and went into the city. The nearest store large enough to carry everything she had been told to get was on the docks. That was a long journey, so it was already late afternoon when she arrived. As she walked towards the store, she heard something in the distance. Initially, she could've sworn that it was her imagination. When she turned towards the source of the noise, she was horrified.

A group of men (no doubt illegal animal traders) were trying desperately to tie down a beautiful black Arabian stallion. The horse was clearly wild and was very upset, rearing and fighting back. This went on for several minutes, but when she saw one of the men bring out something that looked like a spear gun, she didn't hesitate any longer.

She ran as fast as she could, driven by a desire to save the stallion. She didn't see the shadowy aura forming around her hands. She tore across the docks and straight onto the boat, her emotions shifting from fear and horror to anger and desire. She still didn't see the shadows that were now slowly but surely enveloping her hands and forearms. The traders turned to face her.

"**Little girl, leave now… or else we'll have to hurt you…"**

"Leave that horse alone! Let him go!"

One of the men took notice of the shadows gathering around.

"**Not good! She has the shadows with her! Attack! Attack!" **

They immediately gathered up all the guns they could find, and aimed at her. She only had seconds to respond before they unleashed a barrage of bullets on her. Thinking she was going to be dead, she closed her eyes and held up her arms in a defensive stance. It was instinct born of fear. She thought she was dead.

She wasn't.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that, somehow, she'd created a shield of sorts out of solidified shadows. The men were clearly terrified, but she was even more scared than they were. The moment the need to shield herself went away, the shield faded like the shadows it was made from. Then, things got strange.

Some of the traders fled, scared enough by the surprise shield. Others tried desperately to kill her, but it was useless. Her body took the bullets with far less pain than she expected. Her body slowly regenerated, creating an uncomfortable sensation. She clutched her stomach, confused as could be.

"W-What is this?!"

The stallion reared again, letting out a desperate cry for help, reminding her why she was here. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Gonna have to get answers later… right now, that poor animal needs my help!"

She began to get up just as night began to rise. She then felt a massive surge of power as darkness filled the skies. Her body healed itself completely in a matter of seconds as her out-of-control abilities continuously siphoned the dark energy from the night sky. She tried to fight it, but the power was stronger, and she had no choice but to give in. Her eyes glowed pure white as she entered a power-induced trance. Then, all hell broke loose.

In this trance, she proceeded to fire an array of solidified shadow beams in every which way, simultaneously freeing the stallion, defeating any remaining traders, and obliterating almost anything else in range. This meant that half the docks and all boats moored at the affected area were completely obliterated. However, the dark sky kept on feeding her trance. She could not stop herself, nor the rain of shadows that her completely out-of-control abilities brought forth. Lucky her that the beach was currently deserted. Probably thanks to her shadow show.

Of course, this did not go unnoticed. It just so happened that a certain pair of assassins had decided to take a vacation in Miami, and Neon Huntress was patrolling the town when both of the aforementioned parties noticed the shadow show.

"Hey… Clint… are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"If by 'seeing what I'm seeing' you mean that crazy shadow show up there, then yea-OH SHIT!"

He grabbed her, and jumped out of the path of rubble set loose by a stray shadow beam. Neon Huntress stopped on a nearby rooftop, and watched for a few minutes.

"Newborn Conduit, huh? Judging by the black beams going everywhere, I'm gonna say Shadow powers… damn, that means that fighting him… or her, not sure which, at night isn't gonna be easy."

She smirked.

"I'm a goddamn Neon girl. I've got _light_ powers. Just the thing to fight off the Shadow Lord here… Oh shit, there are people around!"

She charged Neon over herself, and slammed into the entranced Shadow Conduit, thus temporarily stunning her. Neon Huntress turned to Natasha and Clint, unaware of who they really were.

"Get the HELL outta here! Now!"

"Like hell we are!"

Clint immediately dropped the case he was carrying, revealing his bow. He took it out, and with one thorough shake, it was ready for action. He pulled out his near-overstocked quiver, and locked it into place. Natasha took out her trademark Widow's Bite, and locked it into place on her wrists. She took out a gun and cocked it, ready for anything. Neon Huntress's eyes widened for a moment, and then she shrugged her shoulders.

"Or reveal yourselves to be trained soldiers. That works too, I guess…" Neon Huntress muttered. She high-tailed it to the master assassins, and stood in front of them.

"How the hell are you doing that-" Natasha began.

"Look, there's not much time for real explanations. It's obvious you can fight, but those toys ain't gonna do jack shit against this Conduit." Neon Huntress said, interrupting Natasha.

"That's a _Conduit?! _What kind of power causes the person to go batshit crazy and fire away when it's nighttime?!" Clint demanded.

"Not entirely sure, but I'm guessing some sort of dark or shadow power. I'm a Conduit with Neon powers. Light versus dark. You do the math."

"...She's got a point. So, what's your plan?" Natasha asked, hands on her hips.

"You two work together, do your thing, and keep people away. I'll fight her. If the sun rises first, she's almost guaranteed to weaken, and then I'll get her to someone who can help her learn to control her powers. If I beat her first, same thing. Got it?"

The master assassins looked at each other for a moment, but knew that she was right.

"Fine. Good luck against crazy person over there."

"Same to you, Cupid."

Clint flushed as the Neon Conduit went off, smirking.

_Little bitch… _He thought as he launched a bungee arrow at a rooftop, locking on and getting into position…


End file.
